Book 4: Demons of Nemurnal

…

The days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months. Summer was nearing it's end, and Keith stretched his hands out over his head. He figured it would be good of him to relax while he had the time. There was little free time now for anyone. Not even a week after the great meeting, the Wolf clans began to arrive by the hundreds. Every day more were showing up, an army outside their doorstep, pledged to help them fight against whatever foe they needed to. Early June the Tiger clans began to arrive as well, further bolstering the ever growing army. They were far more organized though, with legions of soldiers rallying every other week, a thousand strong each.

Three weeks ago the Lynxes had finally arrived. Though they only have a few hundred soldiers, Keith would honestly take them over even the Basitins. Their armor was thick, yet light. Their swords were sharp and agile, yet they were strong enough to pierce even the toughest hide. Their arrows were little more than hissing blurs when they fired, and not a single one missed it's target. Even the prince himself was a competent fighter, often sparring with his guards, dancing around each other as they twisted and lunged, trying to gain the upper hand.

With so many here, and the Foxes still yet to show up, Keith finally felt like they had an actual chance to survive. There was, however, one problem still: They had no idea what they were going up against. Keiren had been working with Matriarch Dahlia, King Jade, and one of the many Wolf commanders to try and plan a scouting party, but finding volunteers was a big problem. Understandably, no one wanted to go investigate the mountain. Having names like "The Mountain of Death" generally made people not want to go there. Taking an army to march on the mountain was one thing, but going with only a few people? It did not sound particularly inviting.

It obviously came as a shock to everyone that someone willingly volunteered to go, and even more surprising, it was the last person they had expected to want to be anywhere near the mountain. And yet, Fennel seemed to take the responsibility of creating a team very well. The former Templar had been going around, asking questions, poking and prodding and worming his way into everyone's mind. He was trying to find people that were not just good in a fight, but people he could trust to get him there and back again. It was not long before Keith had found himself talking with Fennel himself, and both he and Natani were ready to go with him.

Fennel was very particular about his choices. Keith was not just an ambassador, giving them technical diplomatic immunity, but also was very good in combat, being light and devastating to anything that stood in his path. Natani was also his choice, though it took a bit of convincing. Even after more than two months, he was still trying to get over his deeply ingrained dislike of Wolves. Still, Natani offered skills he needed, and with her stealth and magic, she was the perfect fit for a utility role. Sadly though, they were the only ones who he had decided on, and even with a team starting to form, no one was keen to join them.

Shaking his head, Keith stopped reflecting, and looked out at the vast camp that lay before the walls of Edinmire. It was Monday, late in July, and the air was filled with the din of summer's end. Birds flew overhead, bugs whistled and chirped, but more than that was the sound of the encampment. Thousands of overlapping voices reached his ears, mixed with the din of hammers and anvils, when a voice he recognized pierced through the noise. "There you are. Still haven't found anyone else to go with you?"

"Not yet. You're welcome to come."

"Oh, no. I am not brave enough for that."

"Are you serious? You've stared down far worse than a recon mission."

"I know: my wife." Trace said with a hearty laugh. "Flora might kill me if I leave without her, and she's in no state to go on a mission like this. Hate to break it to you, but she's the one in charge now." Keith laughed as Trace leaned against the rampart. "I know that she means well, but she can get rather clingy some days. I had no idea Keidrans were like this."

"It might not be all of them. Remember, Flora already went through this once, and we know how it ended. She might be reliving her trauma again, so she needs you more than ever."

"I suppose. I can hardly imagine what she must have gone through. Thankfully this time should be different. This time should be better. No one is chasing us, no one is trying to kill us, we're not forging a path across the deadliest mountain range in existence."

Keith couldn't help but smirk. "High standards, I see."

Trace chuckled with him, rolling his eyes. "I know, so high." Silence came between them as a gentle breeze blew from the south. The sky was mostly clear, save a few fluffy clouds that cast quiet shadows over the world. The quiet did not last forever though. "How's Barret?"

"What do you mean?"

Trace frowned slightly as he stood up. "The last few weeks he's been… distant. Distracted. Like he's trying to hide something that he doesn't want to."

"I noticed that too." Keith followed him down the stone stairs, off the walls. "Ever since we got back, he and Haelith have both been like that. I wouldn't really worry about it too much. If it's something important, he'd tell us. We're his family now, a chosen tribe. He trusts us."

"I know, but it seems to be bothering him as much as me. He's often up late- well, later than usual. I've caught him talking to himself a few times, but he notices me very quickly. It's practically impossible to sneak up on him."

"When he's ready to talk about it, he'll do so. Just give him time." Keith wandered away for a bit, tossing a few coins to a merchant as he grabbed a warm pastry. "Come on, let's go see if Fennel has found anyone else to join yet."

…

Richard had his feet up as he leaned back on the large chair. In one hand was a cool cup of iced coffee, in the other a heavy book about the Second Age. While he used to hate history, he had come to rather appreciate the lengths historians went through to prove their work was credible. Many cross referenced each other, making it easy to verify sources, and most of the time if there was no one to point to, that meant it was a directly researched topic by the author. He had also found it quite nice for him today, because it meant that he could have Raine laying her head on his chest while she read her own book. Rarely did their topics overlap, but today was an exception, as her book recounted legends and tales of the Halrak Desert, where the Lynxes came from. On the surface, they had nothing to do with each other, but there was more to her book than meets the eye.

"Here, there's another one: 'Among the more interesting tales is that of the Wandering Pillars. The name is rather misleading, but it is the best translation from the ancient tongue of the desert folk, when a more appropriate name, and the one that most use today is the Walking Statue. This enigma is deeply rooted in myth and legend, being one of the longest and oldest of stories. Unfortunately, stories is all they are. Finding any truth behind the words is nearly impossible, as the story varies from one house to the next, muddying the pool of knowledge. However, the are two things that stand out among all the stories: One: the statues show up without warning, and cause fear and panic where they do. Two: they seem to vanish without a trace, leaving behind only mystery and chaos. Some stories tell of a trickster demon, while others speak of a reaper of souls, and others that it is simply an illusion. There are some speculate that these are Sentinels from Nemurnal, though no one dares get close enough to check.' That certainly fits, right?"

"What period is that from?"

"Only a decade ago, but we've seen this author before on one of your history books. He's credible, right?"

"Credible with history, yes. I'm more wary about trusting him with tall tales and legends."

Raine rolled her eyes and went back to reading, flipping page after page. "I don't know what more you expect to find. Nothing like this has happened before that we know of, and if it has happened, it's not going to be well documented."

"I know, but if it has happened, surely someone would have written about it. If it's out there, we have to find it."

Their talking was gently interrupted by a knocking on a nearby bookshelf. "What are you two looking for exactly? Perhaps I could be of assistance?" Eric said with a smile as he walked over with a canvas in one hand.

"Richard is just convinced that the Sentinels have done things like this before, moving in large numbers and attacking well fortified settlements. He seems to think that the place to look for evidence is not just in history books, but also in local stories and tales from around Mekkan."

Eric frowned, but walked over, setting the canvas down on the table next to him. "Well, I've not heard anything about them moving in large numbers, but lone scouts wandering to the far reaches of Mekkan aren't uncommon. Practically everywhere you go there's going to be some story about them showing up, leveling a building or two, and then vanishing."

"That's about what I've found." Raine said, nudging Richard in the side as he rolled his eyes. "It doesn't matter when or where the story is, it's always those same two connections."

"There has to be something, I just know it. Maybe we're not going back far enough?"

Eric shook his head. "Any further back than a century or so and you won't find anything. Books like you know are a relatively new creation on the grand scale. Scribes used to have to make every page by hand, but now that magic can copy a page in only a minute, it is far faster to create books. The Basitins have recently made a machine to press ink into pages, and apparently it's actually faster than using magic! Regardless, books are less and less common the further back you go, and after a certain point, there may be only a handful of copies of a given book in the world. With that in mind, finding knowledge reliably is going to be nearly impossible. The only place that you might be able to find whatever book you want is in Morlin Hall's Grand Library, but the Templars have kept it well secured for years."

"It might still be worth a check." Richard shrugged. "We technically aren't at war with the Templars anymore. I doubt they would let me in, but it could still be worth the trip to learn what's going on in the capitol."

"Assuming they don't kill or arrest you on sight, I guess."

"Have you ever been there?" Raine set her book down and looked at Eric, who smirked.

"Once, just over a decade ago. It is a place where change is slow, despite being the seat of power for the entirety of the Human Empire. The city itself feels like a small town, even smaller than Edinmire, but that's just because of how the castle was built. There's actually somewhere around fifty thousand people in Morlin, but the castle, Morlin's Hall, is special. It sits on a large hill, and the city stretches out before it like a map. You can see the towers from practically anywhere in town, and most major roads lead up to the main gate, so you never feel like you're too far away from it." Eric's eyes glassed over as he remembered his time there rather fondly, but he had fallen silent, being lost in his memories.

"Perhaps it would be worth a trip, if just to see that." Raine smiled, turning back to her book.

"Indeed. I suppose I've prattled enough. I'll let you get back to your books. I hope you find what you're looking for."

…

Barret curled his fingers around the flame, feeling the heat on his scales. He knew that it would not hurt him, but his own instincts prevented him from touching the cool red fire. It took a lot of concentration to hold the flame over his palm, especially with watching eyes. Natani was standing a few feet away, her mana crystals ready in case she needed to step in. This had become a normal part of their day, spending time using magic, or even better, studying it. Barret learned that it was not just his emotions and willpower that caused magic to happen, but that he could also use verbal and somatic components to coax the power out. It was tricky, but he was growing a little every day. "Better. Both of you are doing better."

Barret nearly lost his focus as he dared to throw a smile at Haelith, who had joined them today. She was far more adept at this kind of magic, and picked it up very easily. "I can feel my power draining slowly. Is that normal?"

"I'm not sure." Natani glanced over to where Haelith was sitting on a nearby stone wall. "Barret explained to me a long time ago that your power is different from mine. Remember, you're pulling from your own pool of magic, I have to channel power through myself using crystals."

Haelith frowned, and the flames over her palm wavered, but remained. She did look like she was struggling quite a bit to keep it burning, but she persisted nonetheless. The two sat for a minute more before Barret gave a heavy sigh and let the flame die out. "It's so hard to hold it. This doesn't feel as natural as when I've done magic before, it's like I'm forcing the power rather than allowing it to flow freely."

"Actually, that's exactly what you're doing." Natani grinned as she sat down between them on the wall. "Think of your power like a river for a moment. It flows on it's own, going where it pleases, where it's natural to go. By using a spell like this, it would be like building a dam or a canal, diverting the water away from the natural course. In the same way, your own power is going to be far stronger if you let it flow naturally, but this will allow you to control it more precisely."

"Can you teach me things other than combat magic?" Barret asked, hopping down and wandering to below a large tree in the garden. "I don't plan to spend my whole life fighting. Perhaps you know how I could use magic when I travel? Is there a spell for wayfinding?"

"Most likely." Natani shrugged and scratched her chin. "I'll have to do a bit of poking around, maybe get Zen to help. He's gotten very good at reading."

"Perhaps you'd like to learn?" Haelith reached for a nearby pitcher of water, pouring a cup and handing it to Natani. "I could teach you."

"That would be nice, but life is about to become far more hectic. Keith and I are part of the group Fennel is going to lead to scout Mount Tanji, remember? I have to be ready to leave at a moment's notice."

"Then why doesn't Zen teach us so you can focus on that?"

"He didn't learn magic like I did. He can use it, but not well. A basic fire bolt, a few shield spells, a couple illusions, but nothing more. No, I'll keep teaching you as long as I can. He can help, but especially with his arm how it is, there is no way he's doing any somatic components."

Barret sat down, leaning against the large maple tree, relaxing in the warm July weather, glancing up at the wisps of clouds overhead. "That's fair. And honestly, I'd rather study with you. It's a bit nostalgic. Reminds me of when we were traveling back here, when you first tried to teach me. It was frustrating for both of us, but we've made it work."

"Indeed. But until your power recharges, there's nothing else for us to do. I'll go pester Zen, and we'll meet back here tomorrow."